If there is anything I can compare a Hold Steady concert to, it’s the death of a massive star. The band is able to push so much energy into the crowd that it burns too fast and too intensely, like the hydrogen atoms at the star’s core. That energy grows at an exponential rate, ultimately culminating into a moment as euphoric as is it is destructive at the end of the show.

The show, which happened Friday at the Turner Hall ballroom, will spoken of by those who attended until the band comes back to town and all the particles at that cosmic event gravitate back toward them.

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“Run Fatboy Run” is a comedy about true love, commitment, and growing up—eventually. Simon Pegg (‘Shaun of the Dead,’ ‘Hot Fuzz’) plays Dennis, a regular guy stubbornly coming to terms with his adult responsibilities. After leaving his pregnant fiancee Libby (Thandie Newton) on their wedding day, Dennis spends the next five years unsuccessfully trying to win her back.

When Dennis learns that Libby has been seeing a suave American businessman named Whit (Hank Azaria), Dennis enrolls in a charity marathon to prove to Libby that he’s changed and that Whit isn’t all that he’s cracked up to be.

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The film opens on a banal sidewalk. People and cars, diminished by the high perspective of the camera, pass by insignificantly. There is nothing particularly extraordinary about the scene, that is, until the film reveals through its only true cut, a sinister scene unveiling high above the city.

The aggressive and arrogant Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and his quiet, mouse-like roommate Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger) have just strangled their college friend David Kently in the middle of their living room. They neatly tuck him into a large chest, and start making preparations for the dinner party they are hosting later in the day, their guests to include David’s father, his fiancée Janet (Joan Chandler), and their former professor Rupert Cadell (James Stewart).

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It’s a good time for those who like to laugh. Sounds strange, but it’s absolutely true.

Televised comedy has reached a quantity and quality that is unheard of in the history of the medium. Coupled with the advent of DVD and iTunes, the comedy genre has been stimulated, creating an overall better product.

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With most great TV shows now lasting into their in season years, it nice to see a hit show call it quits when it’s still in it’s prime—well let’s just hope it’s still in its prime. Battlestar Galactica made its final return to the Sci-Fi Channel two weeks ago, when it began its fourth and final season on April 4.

The show has built up a small army of fans and garnished some praise from media critics, the most recent of which is the number 13 spot on Empire magazine’s list of top shows of all time. The question is how did it become so popular, when it seemed destined to fail from the start?

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Summer’s almost here, and that can only mean three things. Boozing during the day will become increasingly more prevalent, feet will bleed because of your unflinchingly rigid stance on wearing flip-flops, and you will leave the movie theater dozens of times with a severe feeling of disappointment.

It seems like every summer starts off with copious amounts of excitement for movies, but by the end of August, we look back over the past few months and realize that we’ve been hornswoggled by the studios.

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Last Sunday I did something I rarely do. I switched up my brunch schedule.

I know you’re thinking that is a pretty risky endeavor. But I’ve heard some things, some good and some bad, about my latest spot, Good Life.

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At 6pm on Friday, April 18, the artists of the Milwaukee-based White Whale Collective will open their gallery doors to reveal their latest creation.

The White Whale Collective formed during the winter of 2007, much the way a group of friends starts playing music together in someone’s garage, to fulfill a need for creative release. In this way the collective functions as a mutual admiration society.

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Last week I offered you, the faithful reader, a small list of ideas to do now that spring has sprung. And knowing you, faithful reader, you already accomplished most of them. Now you are bored again, wondering what else you can do with all your free time.

Have no fear.

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With the remainder of the semester rapidly dwindling and the forecast finally confirming that it’s spring, many people are finally enjoying going outdoors, instead of suffering the Wisconsin weather. It’s that time of year again – we can finally look forward to the summertime and also summer gardening.

If you find yourself stuck in a rut, not wanting to turn to the same flower or vegetable garden year after year, consider planting a theme garden. Here are some tips for popular themes and corresponding plants and outdoor décor. (If you are shopping for seeds online, Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha counties are zone 5 on the hardiness scale.)

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